Yesterday, Tottenham Hotspur announced details regarding season ticket renewals through a statement on the club’s website. The press release started off with a rather sweet story about the importance of fans to the team’s performance, before delivering some real shock to local supporters. Season ticket prices would increase by 6 percent next season, further impacting older fans as new seniors. Concessions are scheduled to be abolished from the 25/26 season.
Unsurprisingly, fans on the web (and off-line as well) reacted strongly. Many fan websites, Twitter collective accounts and sporting figures associated with the club went into an uproar as #LevyOut trended and fans expressed their displeasure. The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust issued a statement condemning the change, and the TIFO scheduled for the match against Manchester City was scrapped.
You know, it’s hard for me to write about this, being in this corner of the world. Here in New Zealand, I’ve never had the chance to watch a match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (let alone White Hart Lane). I can only dream of being a season ticket holder, but as a relatively young fan (I’ve been following the club for about 15 years at this point) I understand this must be an absolute gut punch for season ticket holders. It’s difficult to play matches week after week for about half a century.
It’s the reasons behind these increases that make this a particularly bitter pill to swallow. The club’s statement mentions an increase in match day operating costs, which certainly makes sense. But it completely ignores some points that are brutally obvious.
With all that in mind, this press release from the club seems like a no-brainer. At most. This club is making huge profits on the surface but not having much success on the pitch, but they are not reinvesting that profit back into the team to create success and things have gotten a little expensive. He complains that there are. Now, as mentioned above, these wage figures are definitely outdated, so there’s no question that clubs are investing more in their on-field product, but still, in any way, It doesn’t look good in any way, shape or form.
But it’s easy to forget that in today’s landscape, sports clubs are no longer grassroots organizations born out of factories, gyms, or the military, but profit-making machines (except when they aren’t). Because of the deep affinity we feel for this work, fans miss out on a lot. teambut at the same time, forget about the fact that this relationship is completely one-sided and, after all, these are huge companies that only care about you as far as the cash in your bank account.
With that in mind, it’s hard to know whether the backlash from fans will sway the club from this decision. We have seen several instances in recent years where public noise appears to have led to a change in policy. These include the possibility of hiring Gennaro Gattuso and freezing season ticket prices for this season. It’s good to hold the club accountable. From a fan’s point of view, the reality is that clubs exist for our entertainment, and part of that is success. Otherwise, why would fans be willing to invest more?
The timing of this announcement feels like an attempt to capitalize on the goodwill that has been built between manager Ange Postecoglou and his team this season with supporters due to their performances. In fact, I feel like that goodwill has flared up. Let’s see if the club sticks to the plan.
